Electric stimulation has been proven to promote wound healing and many appliances for performing electrical stimulation to a wound are known in prior art. In many appliances, conductive wires or the like leading from a conductive sheet passes trough a backing layer of the appliance. For such appliances, it is hard to obtain liquid tightness in the backing layer in openings through which a wire passes. In other appliances, such as EP 1 589 918 and EP 0 504 715, an electrical contact projects from an opening in the backing layer of the appliance. In both cases, an outer barrier for protecting against external bacteria or the like and preventing exudates from leaking through the backing layer can not be warranted.
WO 02/089911 A1 discloses a two part TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) device having a lower part having a top layer made of a magnetic polymer and conductive adhesive forming electrodes in contact with the skin. Two conductive pads extend through the top layer of the lower part and connect to the conductive adhesive and to electrical contacts in the upper part of the device which contains an electronic module for controlling the electrical stimulation.
Electrical stimulation treatment of wounds is intermittently performed and it would be a great advantage if an appliance for electrical stimulation of wounds can function as a conventional wound dressing during periods between the treatments by electrical stimulation, thereby eliminating the necessity of removing (probably changing) wound dressings after every treatment period of electrical stimulation. Furthermore, several types of TENS devices are known and used for relieving pain in a variety of ways. It would be an advantage if the electrodes of such devices could be attached to a contact on a dressing for enabling electrical stimulation of a wound.
The objective of the invention is to improve a wound dressing enabling electrical stimulation of the wound so that it can function also as a conventional wound dressing and enables easy attachment of TENS electrodes for the electrical stimulation.